Could be Better
by Mademoiselle Anime Amour
Summary: Namine is getting herself all self-conscious again...all because Kairi leads a far better life than she does. What will it take to show her that she's good enough just the way she is? Angsty/fluffy. R&R!


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A/N: Hello again, guys. This is my first one-shot since I finished Xion's Opinions (a total yet unexpected smash hit), and yes, this is more AkuNami-ness. I can't help it--I just LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE these two together. A bit of angst, a bit of sweet--this is the story as well as the pairing in my opinion. But, anyway, read on!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, just keeping AkuNami fever alive. **

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Namine, in all her angst, stared blankly at her reflection in her bathroom mirror. Why did she have to pale in looks compared to her other? She envied Kairi's beauty, especially her face that was always free of blemishes and at least looked fifteen. Namine's, on the other hand, looked to be approximately twelve instead of that age. To her, her ocean blue eyes appeared rather too large, much like a cute puppy's. She despised being considered cute—if people could even consider her that!

"You're ugly," she told her reflection that gazed emotionlessly back. "Why can't you look just as good if not better than her?"

Kairi seemed so perfect that everything always fell into place with her. Other girls would crowd around her, praise her, and treat her as if she was a long lost sister to them. However, Namine had traveled briefly (so as not to get caught in the act by other Organization members) to Destiny Islands, and those girls had laughed in her face.

"You look like you're eight!" one of them had crowed.

Maybe she did look young, but that shouldn't have mattered.

Namine had only wanted the girls to befriend her, to want to be just like her, too. But no, all she received was rejection and cruel laughter. That was all she ever received, even from her captors. They never took her seriously either. And all because of a childish appearance that seemed plain by normal standards—she loathed it all. She cursed her face and her eyes, as well as those practically doll-like legs. Of course, the white linen dress she wore did nothing to flatter them, only causing them to look even chubbier. Her hair, which she rarely tolerated, hung limply about her shoulders like dead seaweed. Kairi's hair was flawless, though, as if she had copied her hairstyle from a picture in a book filled with fairytales. All the time she looked like a princess; all she needed was a sparkling tiara and bejeweled scepter.

Namine, so she thought, looked like the servant girl who stayed faithfully at the princess' side.

Now, she even resented her Other for maintaining her beauty, one of which she could never possess. As Marluxia had told her once, she was only "a mere copy that is a poor rendering of the original."

Perhaps he had a point. Perhaps she truly did resemble a shadow that looked less appealing than its caster.

And she couldn't take the agony of knowing that any more.

"Why are you so ugly?!?" Namine shrieked as she picked up a bar of soap to aim at the mirror. Her reflection's eyes also seemed to take on that furious glint.

She squinted to ensure her accuracy, her lips tightening to an almost invisible line. She was determined to destroy this monstrosity once and for all.

"You can't look like Kairi—you'll never look like Kairi! She's everything you're not and can never be. You are just a disgusting clone, and I hate you!"

With a stronger than usual throwing arm, she hurled the soap at the mirror, which promptly shattered into a million pieces. She bitterly thought that those fragments represented the shards of her broken, non-existent heart. A few of the sharp mirror pieces grazed her right forearm; it started bleeding from the cuts. How ironic. This proved all the more that she was an awful double of Kairi and that she should meet the fate of a tedious doll—ejected and broken.

Disregarding the sound of approaching footsteps, Namine stumbled backwards to sit on the bathroom tiles, her face expressionless after all its contortions from her fake misery. Not even a single tear escaped her eyes.

She had returned to feeling nothing again, like she always had and always will. Silence oppressed her for what felt like hours but in reality were minutes. She almost wished to disappear after her malignant revelation of her "ugliness." That way, Organization XIII would lose their little maidservant.

So much the better, she figured.

A shock of scarlet hair materialized out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored it. It was probably Axel again, coming to remark bitingly regarding how much time she spent in the bathroom. She had said she merely needed to relieve herself and didn't need to be bothered. And yet, here he stood, ready to pester her with his sometimes hurtful words. Sourly, she wondered what he wanted.

"A five minute potty break, huh?" he asked sarcastically, his green eyes boring into her skull. He had surveyed the damage that surrounded Namine and put two and two together to figure out that the breakage was intentional.

"Yes, that's right. I'm finished now," she whispered tonelessly, still immobile after her rage.

Axel crossed his arms, a typical reaction coming from him. "I see... So, why did you break that fancy mirror?"

"I didn't approve of my reflection."

He sighed, knelt down next to her, and noticed the trails of blood that streamed down her right forearm. "You hurt yourself, didn't you?"

"Not on purpose. It was an accident. I would never cut myself, Axel."

Without another word, the redhead opened the medicine cabinet to remove a bottle of peroxide and a roll of medical bandages. He gently held Namine's forearm to treat her wounds.

She recoiled at the peroxide's excruciating feel before relaxing as she sensed the bandage being wrapped around her arm.

"Thanks, you didn't have—"

"Sure I did." Axel waved her gratitude aside as though it was a fly. "Can't have our little prisoner being broken, now can we?"

A wry smile touched Namine's lips before vanishing again. She heaved a sigh, knowing that she had to tell the truth when it came to this incident. About how she thought she paled in comparison to Kairi, about those comments that sliced her like a knife—everything.

Axel seemed annoyed with her, judging by his expression. He obviously wanted to hear an explanation, like Namine assumed he did.

"I think I need to hear a better excuse than 'I hate my reflection'," he told her, leaning against a wall with his eyes half-closed.

"All right...so, here's what I think," Namine started. "I could be better than Kairi, my other half. She's so perfect and I'm so...flawed."

Number Eight's orbs now shot open in surprise. Was this what it really was about? An attack of girlish insecurity?

"She has everything—friends, admirers, and a family. I'm just a shell of her, an uglier one according to Marluxia."

Axel snorted disdainfully. "Marluxia? I wouldn't listen to him, Namine. He likes to mess with people's heads—him and Larxene. They're two of the most sadistic people I wished I had never met. As for your second-guessing when it comes to your looks, don't. You look fine. Are serpents growing out of your head?"

Namine giggled slightly. "No."

"Then stop letting Marluxia's words get to you!"

Her smile faded away when she heard these words uttered. She still wondered whether the words in question were true or false. Real or unreal?

She sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time that day and hung her head. Even if Axel's lecture caused some effect, it seemed impossible to totally ease her pain. After all, she still hated herself. She could be better than Kairi, but when the qualities stacked themselves up, she just flat-out wasn't. Axel seemed to sense that the memory witch disbelieved his words as soon as they had eluded his mouth. This girl seemed too hard to please...and appease.

He gently placed one gloved finger under her chin and raised it up to study her face. As far as he was concerned, he saw nothing wrong in it; he only glimpsed perfection. So what if Namine didn't remotely resemble Kairi? She still had quite a lovely, flattering appearance, and she steadfastly refused to accept that fact. Her blue eyes shone impeccably to the point that he assumed that Kairi would have a run for her money if Namine stood next to her.

Axel felt her trembling, practically like a miniature earthquake as she asked, "What is it?"

And he gave her the trademark smirk that scarcely ever left his lips and replied, "You're beautiful. Kairi has nothing on you."

With that, he softly kissed her lips.

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**A/N: Oh, I know, I know, an abrupt, cliched ending! But, it just felt right for me to stop at that part, considering the one-shot was already substantial enough as it was. This was something I wrote last year, just never really got it published until now. I hope you guys enjoyed it for all of the excess cheesiness. I just feel like I can relate to Namine with the insecurity issues.**

**Please, please review. And I also have quickie update news. Tis the Season...for Some People (my KH X-mas fic) will be out on December 12th and will be updated daily. For, there's eleven chapters and one epilogue--twelve days of fanfic Christmas, yay!**


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